Ken Burns
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What we've been watching: Ken Burns' Country Music
This week, Senior News Editor Billy Steele explains why everyone should check out the latest documentary series from Ken Burns. Senior Editor Devindra Hardawar has an unexpected affinity for the latest CBS procedural and Senior News Editor Richard Lawler has found one thing worth watching on Netflix.
Recommended Reading: The redesigned WWE Network
WWE Network 2.0: How WWE rebuilt its streaming service after a split with Disney Chris Welch, The Verge After a flashy reveal at CES a few years ago, the WWE Network is by all accounts a success, amassing well over a million subscribers by early 2019. Disney threw a wrench in the plans when it bought BAMTech, the company that had successfully constructed streaming services for the likes of Major League Baseball and HBO Now. It was also what WWE relied on for its 24/7 buffet of choke slams and live events. WWE saw the writing on the wall, and rebuilt its streaming library from the ground up.
Brush up on American history with this elegant Ken Burns iPad app
When it comes to apps, Apple's iOS platform offers access to an incredible amount of them. That being said, there are always some which stand out from the rest, one of these being Ken Burns' new, beautifully designed iPad application. But there's more behind its stunning visuals: The Ken Burns app is also, most importantly, loaded with a ton of content related to American history. Once installed, you can view scenes from different Burns' films (like Baseball or The War), as well as select a theme that you're most interested in -- Art, Innovation, Politics, War, to mention a few. It's available now as a free download, but be prepared to shell out $10 in order to unlock the app's full potential on your iPad.
Flappy Bird creator pulled game because it was an 'addictive product,' and more news for Feb. 11, 2014
The creator of Flappy Bird, Dong Nguyen, has told Forbes that the reason he pulled the wildly popular game was because it was an addictive product: "Flappy Bird was designed to play in a few minutes when you are relaxed," says Dong Nguyen, in an exclusive interview, his first since he pulled the plug on the app. "But it happened to become an addictive product. I think it has become a problem. To solve that problem, it's best to take down Flappy Bird. It's gone forever." The game, which has captivated gamers and the tech media, was the No. 1 free download on the App Store for much of the last month. It's estimated that Flappy Bird was earning Nguyen US$50,000 a day. Many players pointed out similarities between Flappy Bird and Nintendo's Mario franchise, but Nguyen confirmed that his decision was not motivated by legal threats from Nintendo. In other news: Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns has released an iOS app. Burns is best known for his PBS documentaries like Baseball and The Civil War. Apple customers are likely familiar with iMovie's eponymous "Ken Burns Effect," which mimics the filmmaker's slow panning and zooming of still images. Ken's new app features selected scenes illustrating recurring themes in American history and is a free download. Speaking of American history... Steve Jobs is featured in a new "American Cool" exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London. Other American icons in the exhibit include Robert Mitchum, Faye Dunaway, Johnny Depp, Elvis Presley, Patti Smith and Jay-Z. The exhibition runs until September 7th. As time goes on, the availability of new Apple products usually improve. Not so for the new Mac Pro. Ship times in UK, other European online stores, Australia and China have now increased by a month to "April" delivery estimates.
PBS screens the cultural eye-candy early to Apple devices, ushers iOS users past the public velvet rope
If you're a fan of HBO's Boardwalk Empire, you'll probably want to tune in to PBS' new Prohibition-era doc -- on your iOS device. That's right, the federally-funded public network's hip to our digital distributing times, and is giving an early access viewing window to users of its PBS app across Apple's iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. The high-brow art'll get its stream on September 23rd, with the full series to air on broadcast from October 2nd through the 4th. While the doc's two subsequent episodes will also stream live day and date on PBS' video hub, your mobile apps won't get the visual goods until the day after air. Of course, if that bevy of options doesn't jive with your busy schedule, you can always download the show direct from PBS or iTunes. Official PR awaits you after the break.
Ken Burns documentary 'Prohibition' will debut on iPad and iPhone
Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns's latest project, Prohibition, is set to debut on the iPhone and iPad on September 23 via the PBS iOS app. The first episode will debut on iOS devices, but the three-part series won't be shown on the PBS TV channel or streamed on its site until October 2-4. According to GigaOM, PBS is debuting Prohibition in advance on iOS devices to build early buzz for the documentary. HBO's Boardwalk Empire returns on September 25, and as a highly-regarded fictional account of a Prohibition-era gangster, the HBO series is likely to generate greater interest in the nonfiction PBS series. PBS reports that it's seen a great deal of usage of its app, with 52 million streaming views in just the last month. Prohibition's airing won't be the first time the network has offered free content through its app, either; several months back, another Ken Burns documentary streamed its first episode for free via the PBS video app. Ken Burns has built a reputation as an outstanding documentary maker -- he's even got a film effect named for him in iMovie -- so if you're at all interested in his work or the Prohibition era itself, take a look at the series on September 23.
Civil War to stream for free on iOS and iTunes
History buffs may want to check out the free PBS video app this week. The first episode of the award-winning Civil war documentary, The Civil War by Ken Burns, is available for free for the next 10 days. The documentary can be streamed through the PBS app or downloaded for free from iTunes. Besides The Civil War, the PBS video application includes 250 hours of free videos, PBS TV schedules and an episode reminder that syncs with iCal. Originally aired in 1990, the entire Civil War series will be rebroadcast from April 3 through the 17 on PBS to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War on April 12. All episodes of the series will be available for purchase from iTunes -- if you want to see how the "Ken Burns effect" got its name, be sure to at least watch the first episode.
